


Winterhold for the Winter Soldier

by LotharWinchester



Series: The Winterhold Soldier [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, College of Winterhold - Freeform, Crossover, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Thieves Guild, Typical Skyrim Racism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 18:00:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4231419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LotharWinchester/pseuds/LotharWinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky arrives in Winterhold with no memory of how he ended up in Skyrim.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I guess i'm not sick of making random skyrim crossovers yet. general disclaimer that i don't own any characters from either fandoms. I hope there are enough MCU fans that also have played Skyrim out there...

He was alone again.

A snowstorm began anew outside as Bucky closed the wooden door to the Frozen Hearth.  No one looked up as he slowly took in his surroundings.

He was thankful for the thousandth time that his basic dress clothes and cloak covered his metal arm. He had yet to see any form of prosthetic limbs in the few days he had been in Solitude. 

His flesh and blood hand dug through his pocket as he approached the owner at the small wooden bar.

“How much for a room?” Bucky’s hoarse voice came out tersely and he flinched as his metal hand thumped softly against the bar’s ledge.

“ten gold per day.” The inn keeper barely noticed Bucky’s tone as he kept his attention on a robed elf.  “This is why no one likes your college, Nelacar.”

Bucky’s eyebrow twitched slightly at the mention of the College. He had heard nothing but negative things about it but held off on judging it until he went there himself.

He grunted lightly, “I need a room for a week.” The innkeeper turned to him and looked at the coin Bucky spread across the bar.  “Can you tell me more about this place?”

“Winterhold or the Inn?” The innkeeper finally gave Bucky all of his attention once Nelacar returned to his room. “Here, I’ll show you to your room.” 

* * *

 

 

 

Bucky sighed heavily as he draped his old set of clothes on the small chair and table provided in his room.  The closet held his Solitude purchased travel bag and some of his weapons.

Dagur was full of information like the other innkeepers he’d encountered in Skyrim so far.  The college got its reputation due to Skyrim’s constant fear and hatred of magic in general. It was also blamed for Winterhold’s misfortune instead of the eruption of Red Mountain.

 He had visited Birna’s shop and stocked up on potions and smithing materials before heading back to buy another set of clothes.  Dagur volunteered to help him once he noticed Bucky’s inability to use his left arm.

It functioned perfectly but he wanted to keep his prosthetic a secret until he couldn’t hide it any longer.  

“The college has healers.” Dagur brought up to his chagrin. “They may be able to help with your arm.”

Bucky nodded and motioned to where Dagur could put the smithing supplies before shutting him out of the room.

He poured over a frayed map of Skyrim he’d managed to take without Birna noticing. He would’ve paid for it but, he was running low on gold again and would need to return to Riften to get another job. Bryn would not be please once he arrived back at the guild a month after his last completed job.  

He stared blankly at the tight fitting cuirass and thought of Bryn’s hand touching his arm.  It was more in awe than in shock.  Similar to the last night he had seen Steve.

_Stevie…_

Bucky shook his head and roughly closed the cabinet doors.


	2. Surprises and Two Guilds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been about 6 months since I updated this but I finally got around to finishing chapter 2. feel free to let me know what you want to see in this fic in the future! Yes I do use that one line from Captain America: the Winter Soldier in this. Thank you for sticking with this fic even though i'm so slow to update.

Winterhold was the last place Bucky expected to find Cynric Endell.

_“What are you doing here?”_ He hissed under his breath at the older Breton.

“Brynjolf thought you’d need my services.”  He frowned at Bucky’s gruff greeting. “I’m glad he was mistaken, friend.”

Bucky eased his grip on Cynric’s wrist and motioned to his room with his right hand. It was not lost on Cynric.

“I sent word yesterday that I completed the job in Solitude.”  Bucky whispered as he shut the heavy wooden door. “I wasn’t captured by the guards and I put the haul in the cache by Honeyside.”

“So you were back in Riften.” Cynric tugged at the collar of his dress clothes. “I didn’t doubt your skills my friend but Mercer has yet to be convinced.”

“I needed time away from the Guild.” Bucky coughed as he handed a bottle of Nord mead to his unexpected companion. “I’ve never seen you outside of guild clothes.”

Cynric scoffed and took a long swig, “Once I knew you were in this shit hole, I couldn’t show up in guild garb.” He frowned as he watched Bucky peel the wool shirt from his tense frame. “We lost our foothold here years ago.”

“How long are you staying here for?”  Bucky sat down on his straw bed as Cynric’s eyes closed.  

“I’ll be heading out in a few hours, now that I’ve found you.” Cynric’s hand motioned to the general area of Bucky’s metal arm. “Why are you hiding it? Aren’t you here to get it healed?”

Bucky tensed as Cynric’s arms crossed behind his head, “They’d only be able to heal the scars, not the arm.”

“I know that.” He grunted as Bucky’s arm shifted in the remaining silence. “You really aren’t from Tamriel are you James?”

“No.” Bucky took the mead back from the Breton, “I’m not.”

“They’d just assume you’d scrounged Dwemer metal from the ruins.” Bucky frowned at Cynric’s casual dismissal.

“The Guild didn’t.” It hung in the air between them as they both recalled the mixed reactions of the patched together group. Some had said nothing while others, including Mercer, suspected him for it. “The last thing I need is mages tearing it apart with spells.” Bucky frowned as he flexed his left arm. “I got struck by magic when that dragon came through near Solitude.”

“Speaking of dragons.” Cynric snorted, “The supposed Dragonborn wanted to join. Some guy from Solstheim.” He met Bucky’s eyes briefly, “It wasn’t Steve, Kid. It’s some Redguard.”

Bucky rubbed his hands gently up his face and through his long hair.  He dragged his robotic hand  gently over his stressed features before motioning to Cynric to eat his fill. “Thank you.”

“For what? “The older thief had picked up  Bucky’s limited tells.  He grunted and sliced the red apple that sat beside a small block of cheese, “Steve?  He’s important to you,  from what little information I can pull from you.”  Cynric chuckled as Bucky tensed, “Relax Kid, Your secret’s safe with me.”

* * *

 

“Are you sure about this, Steve?” Tony sighed as he glanced around at his fellow Avengers. “There’s a high possibility I won’t be able to bring you or Robo Cop back.”

“Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky.” Tony nodded at the familiar phrase as he adjusted the room to the same conditions they had been when Bucky and disappeared. “Have you played this game before?”

“I’ve watched Bucky play.” Steve sat in front of the console and waited for Tony to recreate Bucky’s last moments in the Avenger’s Tower. “I think I can manage.” Steve chuckled lowly, “I won’t get too lost, I have the map memorized.”

Tony nodded and motioned for the other Avengers to leave the room. “Steve, I’m going to be honest with you,” Tony stepped back into the doorway with his eyes on Steve’s tense shoulders. “I don’t know if you’ll actually die here, in this world I mean, if you die in the game so… try not to die, okay?”

“Alright Tony, I’ll try not to.” Steve laughed off his nerves and nodded once, the signal they had both agreed on to set things in motion.

Tony shielded his eyes from the menagerie of colors spewing from the TV.

“Good luck, Steve.”


End file.
